Fruits Basket
by dark-birdie
Summary: Tohru is no longer the her tohruness self! Instead, it's Cesia Honda, who is given the chance to live with the Sohma cousins, Rune and Ruwalk
1. Chapter 1

dark-birdie: somehow…the fact that I'm NOT allowed to go on the comp right at this moment is making me go online even MORE…

betcha never thought this would happen

DRAGON KNIGHTS IN THE FRUITS BASKET WORLD!

-ahem- chapter 1, here we go!

Chapter 1- Of Rats, Cats, and Dogs :D

Her footsteps echoed through the disturbed house as the girl ran down the stairs as if a mob of rabid monkeys were chasing her, in her arms the unsurprised, living bundles of fur.

"CALL A DOCTOR, OR A VET! OR ANYBODY! JUST CALL SOMEBODY GODDAMNIT!" she shouted, violet hair hanging like curtains over her face as she hastily attempted to readjust the large shirt falling from her shoulders.

The startled postman stared at the girl, wondering what in the world the commotion was about. "Excuse me?"

"OH MY GOD! MR. POSTMAN, IT'S TERRIBLE!" she lifted up her arms so the young man could see what she was carrying. "YOU SEE! THEY'RE ANIMALS!"

"Um…yes, those are animals," he answered matter-of-factly, "Does Sohma-san have pets now?" He held out the mail that was to be delivered to the house, expecting her to take it from him.

The violet-eyed girl dropped the animals and waved her hands in the air like a maniac. "NO NO NO! I MEAN, THEY'RE ANIMALS AS IN THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ANIMALS AS IN IT'S JUST'S NOT RI-"

-CHOMP-

Both girl and man stared down at the large black dog. It had gracefully gotten up and grabbed the mail in its mouth. All without letting the mouse on its head fall from its sitting place.

…

"AHAHA! What a smart dog!" the mailman rubbed the dog on the head and made his way to the door, "wish my dog was that smart, have a nice day!"

And with that, the man left.

Leaving the dazed girl to sit on the floor alone.

And then-

"WAIT, HOLD IT!"

The screen becomes fuzzy as the TV is paused.

An odd little rice ball, complete with eyes, a mouth, arms and legs; pops onto the screen, angry at the viewers' ignorance.

"This is too far into the story!" A remote control appears in its badly drawn hand, and the rice ball jabs at the rewind button.

And the crowd goes wild as the show starts from the beginning.

Not really.

The beginning is actually quite boring.

But…oh well!

"HERE WE GO!" says the rice ball, pressing the play button.

And the show starts.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"I'm going to school mom!" said the violet-haired girl, giving a short farewell to the picture frame and leaving through the flap in the tent. The sun shown down upon her equally as violet eyes as she looked up into its bright rays. "Nice day…"

_Hello, I'm Cesia Honda_. (( . I'm sorry, but that sounds kinda funny…))

She made her way through the dense forest-like trees.

_I haven't always live in a tent. Up until last May, I lived in a house with my grandpa._

She smiled as she reminisced scenes from the past.

_But he needed to get renovations done to the house, so I came out here to live for a while. I mean, I'm not complaining, it's just what I have to do…_

"Hm?" She paused as a something large came into view.

A house?

"A girl?"

Cesia blinked and stared at the man before her.

"…"

"AH!" she slightly jumped in the air from shock. Somebody had been watching her! "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to stare, I mean, I was just passing by and, uh…"

"Hold on, hold on, it's okay!" he said, laughing. As he smiled the girl noticed that he was rather handsome, with amber eyes and black hair, dyed red at the tips. "I was just surprised to see someone other than us around here."

"…us?"

"Ah, yes! There's someone else who lives here with me," he stated, squatting down to be eye-to-eye level with the girl, him standing on a raised steps leading to the door of course. "Oh, but don't bother with that, we can just talk about y-"

SLAM!

"Oh, stop it you lecher."

"Aiya…what's in that bag of yours, a dictionary?"

"No, I have two of them."

"…Sohma…san?"

"Hm?" both males turned to look at their speaker. Cesia had forgotten to think to herself and had accidentally said the boy's name out loud. "Yes?" they said in union.

"Eh?"

"Oh, sorry Honda-san," apologized the newcomer, bowing his head slightly. Long locks of blonde hair drifted in front of his face. His beautiful, bright blue eyes made him look slightly androgynous, but besides that, he was amazingly good looking. ((alright, let's just call him HOT! XD)) "This idiot here forgot to introduce himself." He patted the older man's head rather harshly, causing the odd-haired man to slightly topple over, "This is my older cousin, Ruwalk. So technically, he's "Sohma-san" too, but I doubt anyone would want to call him 'san'."

"And why not?" huffed Ruwalk, clutching his throbbing head.

"Simply because you're an idiot and perv and do not have the decency to have the honorific on the end of your name," stated Rune coldly.

Cesia giggled slightly as the two argued on. Then, glancing over as something shiny caught her eye, she noticed twelve, small, glass figurines laid out on the deck, gleaming in the sun.

"Oh, how cute."

Arguments stopped and heads turned at the sudden chain of words escaping the mouth of the high school girl.

"Ah, I see you've found my latest masterpiece!" chuckled Ruwalk, placing the box full of shining glass animals closer to the awed girl.

"It's the zodiac!" she exclaimed, leaning in closer.

"You like them?" asked Ruwalk, smiling, "I'm rather fond of them myself."

"Ah, but you left out the cat…" said Cesia, words faltering slightly, "but I wouldn't expect you to have it, I mean, not many people know-"

"The old Chinese folk tale, right?" said Ruwalk, interrupting. "I know it quite well, thank you. It's cute that he has a fan."

'…he?' thought Cesia to herself.

"So…how do you know the folk tale? I thought you young people never heard those types of stories now days…" laughed Ruwalk to himself. ((Rune: oh, cut it out, you're not that old… --))

"Oh! My mom used to tell me that story all the time!" exclaimed Cesia happily. Anything that reminded her of her mom made her happy in an odd, weird way. _'Once upon a time…_

_God told all the animals, "I'm having a banquet tomorrow, and don't be late!"_

_The rat, being the sneaky animal he was, told his neighbor, the cat, that the banquet was the day AFTER tomorrow. And the cat believed him._

_And so, the next day, the rat rode all the way to the banquet on the back of the cow, and was the first one to enter._

_But the foolish cat lay asleep in bed, dreaming of a banquet that would never come. _

_And God, angry that the cat had not come, would not let the cat into the Zodiac._

_And after that, the cat would always chase the rat, never forgiving what the rat had done. He had been TRICKED.'_

"By the way Honda-san," said Rune, looking down at the girl, "what brings you here so early?"

"Eh! Uh..well…you see…" the sudden question disrupted her story-telling thoughts as she frantically searched for an answer. _'Damn it! I can't tell them I live in a tent!' _"Well…you see, I live…nearby…"

"Really?" Rune asked enigmatically. "where?"

"Uh…right!"

"Hm?" Both males stared at the girl before them. _…right?_

"Well then…" she said uncomfortably, "I better be going, ha…"

"Wait!" Rune adjusted his backpack onto his shoulders and stepped down from the deck. "As long as you're here, we might as well walk there together!"

"Oh…okay…"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO EXPLAIN TO US AS TO WHY YOU WERE SEEN ENTERING SCHOOL GROUNDS ACCOMPANIED BY PRINCE RUNE THIS MORNING AT 7:30 AM, MISS CESIA HONDA!"

"RIGHT NOW!"

"INDEED!"

Cesia covered her ears and winced as the high and shrill voice continued to echo throughout her bleeding ears. Shian Sonoko, president of the "Prince Rune Fan Club" continued her rant of outrage as her two sidekicks, Miyabi Monoko and Silk Sanoko, mimicked every word she said.

"It was just a coincidence, you airheads, not get out of my way!" grumbled Cesia, shoving her way through the three to get to her next class.

"HOLD IT!" Shian grabbed the collar of the purple-haired girl's shirt and prevented her from leaving, "ANSWER ME!"

"Yah, yah!"

"Mm-hm!"

"GRR! IT WAS JUST A COINCIDENCE, HAPPY NOW!" said Cesia half screaming.

"a COINCIDENCE! Coincidences like that should be ILLEGAL!" shrieked Shian, not letting her grip of Cesia's shirt go. "I mean, everyone knows that Rune Sohma is the best looking boy in school…" her eyes were filled with hearts at the mere thought. And so were the eyes of her minions

"And a true gentleman…"

"And good at sports…"

"Mm-hm, well, very nice of you to inform me," Cesia mumbled, making her way through again, "now if you will excuse me, I have to go-"

Shian yanked harder on the shirt and puller her back "CAME BACK HERE YOU BI-"

"HEY!"

Shian snapped around and angrily yelled, "SHUT UP! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TALKI-" she stopped in mid sentenceas she realized who the speakers were.

'_Oh crap, not them..' _thought Shian and her crew as they shivered in unison.

"She said it was an accident," growled the pink-haired girl furiously. Her amber eyes darkened as a look of death washed over her face. "Now get lost…"

-now, let's bring the camera closer for a close-up of the eyes-

"Before I wipe the floor with those dumbass faces of yours…"

The "Prince Rune fanclub" president shivered, but swallowed her fear. ((well, not all of it)) "D-don't think that y-you can scare us off with that yankee thug of yours! I-I'm not scare-"

"Oh, hello Shian!" interrupted a light voice suddenly. A rather pretty girl with long, flowing blonde hair, appeared peering over the pink-haired girl's shoulder. "I dunno about you, but I don't think today's a good day to be deep fried by mind-electrowaves!" she threatened, smiling all the way. Her bright blue eyes glinted with a different kind of evil.

And with this, the three Rune-obsessed fangirls disappeared from sight, running as fast as their Rune-branded shoes could take them.

"Thanks…" sighed Cesia, patting her shirt in place and gathering her composure.

"Were they pickin' on you again?" snapped Kitchel, the pink-haired taller girl, taking her hand and messing up Cesia's hair. "Geez, their prince comes late, so why do they hafta pick on you, I wonder…"

"Yes, they're very rude…" said Tintlett, bright blue eyes tracing the fanclub's getaway route.

"I think we should just go to class now…"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"But really, I was SO nervous. I didn't say anything!" Cesia sighed and sunk her head low, putting the bowl of rice on the table, "he must think I'm a freak…"

"He's sure got a mysterious thing goin' on," said Kitchel, moving her chopsticks up and down with her teeth, "There are some funny rumors about him…"

"Rumors?" The violet-haired girl looked up, "Like what?"

"Well…I overheard that one of the fanclub girls tried askin' him out once," she paused to remove the soaked chopsticks from her mouth, "But when she tried to hug him after he refused, he totally pushed her away. And I mean that literally, then he just ran off."

"He sure has a weeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeird aura about him," said Tintlett cheerfully, stressing a little too much on the "e" and stuffing a bit of rice into her mouth. Ah, cooking class was indeed enjoyable.

"But on another note, how's that new job of yours goin'?"

"Oh, well, it's doing good…"

"I dunno, you've been putting in a lot of hours lately…" her expression immediately switched to her gang member face from the olden days, "You're having trouble paying for tuition aren't you!"

"No! Of course not…okay, well maybe a little…" mumbled Cesia, looking down at her hands.

"That's funny, I didn't think tuition was that expensive here," said Tintlett bluntly.

"You're grandpa's treating right, right?" interrogated Kitchel, "He's giving you enough food to eat?" she paused her questions, "I know, I worry too much. Your gramps is a good guy."

"Mm-hm!" _'I can't tell them I'm living in a tent!' _she thought to herself. _'Kitchel would drive into grandpa's house on her motorcycle! Plus, I'd just be bothering them… I mean, Kitchel lives in a one room apartment with just her dad, and Tintlett's got such a large family…I couldn't ask them if I could stay over…_

_so that's why I decided to live on my own in a tent secretly. I mean, one day I'm going to have to start taking care of myself, so why not start now? It's just what I have to do.'_

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Well, see you tomorrow!"

"Ciao girl!"

"Yes, good bye."

The three friends went their separate ways, Cesia going in the direction of the west exit.

That's where she met Rune.

"Oh! Hello Miss Honda!" said Rune cheerfully. You could just picture the flowers and sparkles floating around his face. "Going home?"

"Ah, no, I'm going to my part-time job," she answered, flushed by his beauty. (⌐⌐ that's just a bit weird…)

"Oh, well are you going this way?" he asked.

"Yup, it's not that far from here."

"Well, why don't we walk together then," he more said than asked.

"Er…okay," she answered, gripping her bag closer to her due to natural shyness.

They walked in silence for a few moments, until Rune decided to speak up.

"I overheard you saying you wished you were born in the year of the cat?"

"Uh, yeah…it was just a silly fantasy of mine, heh…"

"Cat's are such stupid, foolish creatures…" he mumbled.

The mood and tension in the air changed.

"Did you know that the twelve juunishi animals were not originally in the zodiac?"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, it was actually more of a calendar, a keeper of time," he stated, knowing the facts by heart, "When and why they added the animals, no one knows. It was probably just some fortuneteller's meddling. But nowhere in the history of the zodiac…" he paused, stopping as the wind blew, causing his hair to blow in all directions, "…has their ever been room for the cat…"

"Sounds like you really don't like cats…" said Cesia, partly angry because he had been saying rude comments about her favorite animal, and partly confused as to why he had to be so blunt.

"Hmph…" he gave a smile, one that held mysterious look, as if there were much more to the story.

He put a hand to her forehead.

"I noticed this morning…" she blushed as he talked, "That you were starting to look pale…" The "prince" walked off in his own direction for home, waving his hand as a salutation, "Don't overexert yourself, you'll get sick…"

'_I think I get what Tintlett meant by "weird aura" now…'_ thought Cesia to herself. _'But I can't let that comment about being pale get to me! No, I have way too much work to do!"_ and in an instant she was inside the office building, in her working clothes, carrying bags of garbage. _'I can't afford to be sick, gotta work!"_

(x)(X)(x)

"Ano…if we eat out so much, I'm gonna need a bigger robe!"

"Well maybe if you cooked once in a while we wouldn't have to eat out so much."

"Rune, you've got a good head on your shoulders, but when it comes to the culinary arts, you fail."

Rune and his older cousin walked through the forest, which was supposedly their "backyard".

A bit of violet hair and his school's uniform caught Rune's eye.

"…Miss Honda?"

And indeed it was. There they saw Cesia, unstably making her way into a yellow tent on _their _property.

Cesia bowed to the photo of her mom in the corner of the tent. "Hey mom, I'm back from work." She rubbed her eyes. "Wah…I'm so tired. But I still have an essay to write," Digging through her gym bag, she brought out a towel, "I'm just going to…wash my face…" She opened the flap of her tent…

…to be greeted by two very confused faces.

And then…

-snort-

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

"Ruwalk, don't be rude."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"So…how long have you been living here?"

"About a week…"

"You DO know that this is all Sohma property?"

"I know! I'm sorry, but if you'll let me stay, I can pay you!"

Ruwalk, who had been loudly continuing his laughter in the corner of the room, was suddenly calm and snapped back into the conversation. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Those woods are dangerous, what with your landslides and the average weirdo prowling about."

"So you're done laughing?"

"Hm…"

"It's okay! I can deal with it! Even if the storms threaten to blow away my home I-"

The girl suddenly (and frighteningly) fell to the floor.

Rune felt her forehead. "Crap, it's burning hot! I knew she'd get sick!" He helped her sit up. "Ruwalk! Get her some ice!"

"Right! Ice!" the amber-eyed man rushed to the kitchen doors with panic, sliding them open.

A vast wasteland of trash bags and other various unnamable things awaited him.

"Ice…" he muttered, sweating, "Now…if I were ice, where would I be?"

"Ha…and you call the woods unsafe?" muttered Cesia, half awake.

"Well, relatively speaking," smiled Ruwalk, facing away from the dirty mess.

The bark of a wild dog could be heard in the distance.

You could just see the cute little doggy ears pop up on Ruwalk's head. "Oh! Oh! Did you hear that? There's just been a landslide!"

"Eh? How do you know that?" asked Cesia, her vision clearing up from the sudden attack.

"You could call it 'animal instinct' I guess!"

"Was it close?" asked Rune, annoyed by his elder's childishness.

"Close to the ten-" Ruwalk quickly covered his mouth, realizing what he was about to say, "Er, I mean, not at aaaaaalll!"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"No! Mom was in there!" Cesia threw herself onto the pile of rock and dirt, clawing her fingers into the soil. "I have to get her out!"

Another wave of nauseating sickness overcame her and she ceased her digging.

Ruwalk placed a hand on top of hers. "Calm down, you're sick. I'm sure your mom is just happy that it wasn't you in there," he said, trying to soothe the girl's franticness.

"But…mom…she's in pain," sniffed Cesia, wanting with all her heart to have that little picture of her mom to be with her right at the moment.

"We'll help you dig her out in the morning, but for now, please just go back and get some rest," said Ruwalk, helping the girl up.

"Fine…"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Mom…she never cared what happened to her…"

"Seems that a lot has happened to you."

"I…guess…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Cesia closed her eyes, remembering her past and clutching the blanket tightly. "Come home safe… that's all I needed to say…"

Ruwalk watched her, keeping the ice on the girl's forehead in place. He and Rune had set out a mattress with many thick, warm blankets for her to sleep on.

"But I remember…the day it happened, the night before I had a test and I was studying all night…

…And when I woke up, she was already gone.

Everyday, I'd tell her, 'come home safe', but that one time, I couldn't even get up early enough to say it.

And then…she never did come home safe…

Everything she ever did…it was all for me. All she ever wanted was for me to finish high school and be happy…"

"_I never got to finish high school…what with my grades, I just quit." Said Raseleane, beautiful golden eyes staring down at her daughter. "But that's why I want you to finish it to the end, to experience the fun I never had."_

"…And yet I couldn't even get up early to tell her to come home safe…" She slowly fell into a steady sleep.

"Everything…it's all my…fault…"

Ruwalk stared pitifully at the poor girl.

"Whenever I see her, she's always smiling," came a voice from the door. "It's hard to believe she's gone through so much."

"So you heard it all, I assume?"

"Yeah…" he turned his back on the room, "I'm gonna…go out for a while…"

"You're not going to dig out her stuff alone, are you?" asked Ruwalk, "Do you want help? Should I come with you?"

Rune turned to give that mysterious smile once again. "I never said…I was going alone…"

The sound of millions of tiny claws on hard ground filled the air.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Nn…come on cat…you can catch…that stupid…mouse…" murmured Cesia in her sleep. The coming of the sun nudged her awake as footsteps approached her. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Mom!"

Yes, her precious photograph of her mother was set up right in its frame in front of her eyes. She sat up straight and picked it up. "Why are you here?" It looked completely untouched.

"Good morning."

"Ah!"

"Heh, whenever I say hello, I never get a 'hello, nice to see you Rune' back. I just get 'ah!'." Smiled the blonde, morning sunlight caught in the gold of his hair. "Have a good sleep?" He set the many bags in his hands on the porch.

"Eh…?" she looked through the bags, "But this is…all my stuff! Rune, you didn't get this all out yourself, did you?"

"Yup."

"But…there was so much, ah, it must've taken so long!"

"No, not really…"

"But then how?"

Rune smiled gracefully, "It's a secret." He quickly changed the subject, "Now, I know it may seem weird at first-"

"Huh?"

"And I know the fact that living with two strange boys may seem a bit weird-"

"Wait, wha-"

"But there's an empty room upstairs, so you're welcome to stay."

"…" Cesia froze as the sentence was implanted in her head. "NO NO NO NO WAY! I COULDN'T POSSI-"

"We're not THAT weird…" chuckled Rune.

"No! I didn't mean it like that! It's just, I can't ask you to- I mean, you've already done so much-"

"But where else can you go? We're NOT going to let you live in our backyard."

"And you WILL be paid for your services," added in Ruwalk.

Wait…Ruwalk!

Cesia clutched her beating heart as the odd man popped out of seemingly nowhere.

"M-m-my s-s-services?" she asked, still shaking.

The grin on Ruwalk's face widened to the point where it was almost scary. "YUP! AS OUR BRAND NEW HOUSEKEEPER!" he cheered.

"HOLD ON A MINUTE!" yelled Cesia loudly, rubbing her throbbing head. "I thank you for your offer to stay here, and I will gladly work for my payment as rent, but I will NOT receive ANY sort of payment in return! Having a place to stay is good enough! And I want you to tell me all the rules of the house, and what I have to do, what kind of customs there are and-"

"Just relax Miss Honda," smiled Rune, continuing his way up the stairs, "You can do whatever suits you best."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Are you sure it's safe for her to be living here? She IS a girl."

"So like you to worry about that NOW. Yesterday you were practically begging me for a housekeeper, Ruwalk."

Rune and Ruwalk talked as they went around to the back of the house to find the spare key for Tohru. Unbeknownst to them, a red-haired fury watched them from the trees.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

'_I have noooo clue how I got here.'_

"Sorry for the smell, this room's been closed off for quite a while," said Rune as he opened a window.

'In Rune's house…'

"The ceiling is kind of thin, but we'll have someone fix that," he said as a slight creaking from the ceiling was heard.

'And even borrowing his clothes! It's like…living in a dream, and-"

CRASH!

All train of thought was lost as a figure crashed down from the broken roof.

"Yo."

A boy emerged from the diminishing dust, vivid crimson-red hair now fringed with a musty brown and dangerous blood-red eyes to match. "Ready to go to hell rat-boy! Better be, cause I'm gonna pummel you all the way down there!" He yelled, small fangs showing.

Cesia sat in a daze. _'R-red hair, r-roof. He came through the roof! Wha…who is he?'_

"Oh really now?" Rune turned to face the newcomer and smirked, "I'm sure they'd much rather have you in their company."

"Grr! That's it! You're going down!" The red-haired boy charged at Rune, ready to beat the living daylights out of him.

"NO! Don't fight!"

The stranger was smashed downwards as the girl threw herself onto him, putting her arms around his waist, so to stop him from touching the blonde boy.

-POOF-

"Crap…" sighed Rune to himself. _'Guess the cat's out of the bag…literally…'_

Cesia coughed as the sudden burst of red smoke entered her lungs. "There's no use fighting! It'll just get someone hurt!" She searched the ground with her hands, "I'm very sorry, bu-" She picked up the first thing she touched.

It was furry, red, and NOT happy.

Ruwalk poked his funny-colored head out from the door. "Rune? What were all those crashing sounds? Rath's not here, is he?"

Cesia stared at the cat and the cat stared back.

She fell into a state of shock and screamed. "OH MY GOD I TURNED HIM INTO A CAT! I'M SO SORRY, WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU BETTER, OKAY! DON'T PANIC, DON'T PANIC!" she yelled, as she panicked. "DON'T PA- OW!" she stopped mid-sentence as a giant chunk of ceiling came crashing down upon her head.

"Ah, Cesia!"

"Miss Honda!"

The two relatives reflexively went to catch the fainting girl. Damn those reflexes.

-DOUBLE POOF-

"Oy…my head…" mumbled Cesia as she sat up straight, "Rune? Ruwalk?"

STARE

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" she screamed as the black and gray smoke cleared, revealing a large black dog and a small gray mouse. "They've all turned into animals! Oh my god, what have I done!"

_And that's how we got here…_ narrated Cesia as she sat against the wall, left alone in the house to continue being spazzed as to what was going on. _What…the…hell…_

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

dark-birdie: WEE! I'M DONE! GOD THAT TOOK SO EFFING LONG! Fue…now I gotta work on fics that AREN'T dead just on a very long hiatus…don't worry, I'm working on 'em. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. I'm only motivated to write when I know people are reading them. ((oh yeah, and give me some ideas for who to play Kagura's role, cause like Kitchel's already taken))


	2. Chapter 2

"DAMMIT! NOW HOW ARE WE GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS!"

"Don't blame this on us you stupid cat!"

"What'd you say! Go ahead! Say that again!"

"STU. PID. CAT."

"YOU DAMN RA-"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!"

The gray mouse struggled to stay atop the large dog's head as it suddenly sat up to bark the demand.

_Y-you mean they t-talk too? _"I need therapy…" muttered Cesia to herself, rubbing her aching head.

"…stupid cat," hissed the mouse.

"I am SO going to bite your head off!" The red cat made a lunge at the mouse.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" yelled Cesia, half screaming. She furiously grabbed the cat by the tail and yanked the mouse off of the dog's head. "You two, STOP FIGHTING! MY GOD, you're giving me the BIGGEST headache in the WORLD! Now tell me what the hell is going on here!"

Both captive animals laid their ears back in defeat.

"YOU!"

The black dog froze as a finger was pointed at him. "Er, y-yes?" it stammered, slightly scared.

Cesia leaned in closer to the dog's face, never letting go of the other two animals in her hands. "Tell me what's going on, NOW!"

The dog started to sweat furiously, being put on the spot. "Well you see," he pointed a paw at the mouse, "That's Rune right there," he then shifted the direction to the cat, "And that's Rath Sohma there." Then he put his paw down. "And I'm Ruwalk." He could practically see the sanity leaving Cesia's brain.

"You're…you're…ani…mals…" she muttered under her breath, staring blankly at the wall.

"No, we're aliens-OF COURSE WE'RE ANIMALS SHITHEAD!" scowled the cat across the room. The third Sohma had taken this chance to dash into the nearest corner and glare at the mouse.

"DON'T YOU TALK BACK TO ME LIKE THAT YOU IDIOTIC TWIT!" yelled Cesia back at the cat, getting more irritated by it every moment.

"Oy…calm down, geesh," pleaded Ruwalk, sweating slightly. "There's a very good explanation for this, don't get over-excited now." He yipped as the glare turned and shot at him.

"SPEAK."

"Well, you see…" he started, backing away an inch or so, "Our family, the Sohmas. Well, we've lived with this curse for many years. Twelve of us- well, thirteen, including Rath- turn into the twelve- er, thirteen, I mean- animals of the Chinese zodiac when extremely weak, or when (for some reason) hugged by a person of the opposite sex."

Cesia was calmer now, breathing regularly and ignoring the seething cat. "You mean…this is normal?"

Ruwalk laughed, "Well, more or less, I guess you could call it 'normal'. We've been like this forever."

"I see…but then, how do you change back?" asked Cesia, not wanting her new acquaintances to be animals forever.

"Oh, well you'll figure that out right about…"

-POOF-

"Now."

"EEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Cesia desperately turned a three-sixty to face the door as the three animals turned back into their original forms, but missing one thing…

Their clothes.

"PUT SOME STUPID CLOTHES ON!" she yelled, covering her eyes even though she wasn't facing any of them. Stupid and totally abnormal thoughts ran through her head. 'I'll never be able to marry! My innocent, virgin mind has purged into dirtiness!'

"Ahaha, well, wasn't that funny," came Ruwalk's voice.

- ( - it's a cat!) –0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Well, you're still welcome to live here, even if we are slightly…weird."

"Oh, it's okay! You're not- um, THAT weird. But of course, I'll still clean and all that junk, so don't worry!"

"Heh, I like this kid," said Ruwalk, pointing to Cesia and looking approvingly at Rath, "Good manners, much unlike you, ya ol' grumpy kitty."

Rath sat silently in his corner, fuming.

Rune gave small smirk, "It's not his fault he's an annoying, indecent, selfish, irresponsible-"

"My GOD! SHUT UP!" yelled Rath, suddenly rising from his sullen spot and charging straight for Rune. He grabbed a hold of the blonde's shirt and pulled his face close. "You better shut that mouth or yours or I'm gonna have to for you."

"Oh really?" asked Rune sarcastically, looking relaxed, "Are you quite sure you're capable of doing what you just inquired?"

"DAMMIT! DON'T YOU GO USING BIG WORDS WITH ME!" shouted Rath, getting angrier.

"Why? Does it make you feel dumber than you already are?"

"I ain't dumb! Shut up!"

"Is 'shut up' all you can say?"

"SHUT UP GODDAMIT!" Rath raised his fist into the air, ready to punch Rune.

Rune caught sight of the hand and quickly slid over to his left, giving a passageway for the fist to instead land on the door behind him.

"Now, really, do you have to fight?" asked Ruwalk mostly to himself since no one was bothering to listen to him. "My house…"

They had already begun to fight; Rath doing most of the work, and Rune just dodging everything coming at him.

"You know, for someone who disappeared for four months training, you really suck," sneered Rune, taking the fight outside to prevent further damage to the house.

Rath got angrier, if that was possible, and started to fight harder, "Well you haven't changed at all either! Spoiled, cruddy, friendless-"

But he didn't have time to finish his words. Rune immediately gave him a mighty punch in the stomach, knocking all the way across the backyard and into the nearby fishpond.

"Crap!" Rath clutched his paining stomach and turned over in the shallow, rocky pond. He had probably killed a couple of fish there.

Rune glared down at him, "Shut up, you have no clue what you are talking about you stupid cat, so I suggest that until you do, you refrain from speaking." And with that, he turned and walked back into the house, up the stairs, and into his room.

"Ah, well, that's Rune for you," mumbled Ruwalk half to himself. "Anyways…" He turned to face Cesia again. "Sorry, but I'll have to report this whole little fiasco to the top boss-man."

"Who?" asked Cesia, watching Rune go up the stairs.

Ruwalk got up from the table and smiled, putting a hand on top of Cesia's head. "Don't worry about. Just make yourself at home here."

No one noticed the red-haired boy running off back into the dense overgrowth of trees.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

dark-birdie: I kept getting requests to stray from the fruba storyline, so well, I hope I did justice! I honestly didn't know how this would go, but I hope it's smoother from here on now. Sorry for the long wait, don't forget to review!


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